Pass Christian, Miss. — Assistant Education Secretary Henry Johnson, First Book® Senior Vice President Chandler Arnold and Superintendent of Pass Christian Public Schools Sue Matheson today highlighted the importance of reading and presented free books to students at Delisle Elementary School in Pass Christian, Miss. The donation included some of the more than 200,000 Random House children's books, provided by First Book through the Gulf Coast Back to School Book Donation, which is designed to help replenish reading materials in hurricane-affected communities across the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Florida.

"Reading is more than a passtime; it's a survival skill," Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said. "A child who can read is a child who can learn. And a child who can learn is one who can succeed in school and in life. The books being donated today through First Book's Book Relief initiative will ensure that students at Delisle Elementary School have the opportunity to read during the school year and have books in their library."

Following Hurricane Katrina, Delisle Elementary School was the only one of Pass Christian's four public schools that was suitable for student occupancy, and thus it became a K-12 campus (with more than 50 portable trailers) for the 2005-2006 school year. The school opened for the 2006-2007 academic year on Aug. 4th and will continue for a month as a K-12 campus for all 1,400+ students. In early September, Pass Christian Public Schools will celebrate the reopening of Pass High School and Delisle will continue as a K-8 facility.

Kyle Zimmer, president of First Book said, "By helping provide new books to children who have lost so much, First Book and the U.S. Department of Education will give them the opportunity to enhance their literacy skills, as well as provide them with a fun and necessary escape to whole new worlds."

The Gulf Coast Back to School Book Donation is the result of a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Education and First Book. The initiative is part of First Book's Book Relief program, an unprecedented publishing industry-wide effort to distribute five million new books to those affected by the 2005 hurricanes via organizations, schools and libraries. The program will help support those displaced by the hurricanes and replenish books in schools and libraries being rebuilt on the Gulf Coast.

For more information about Book Relief, visit: www.BookRelief.

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